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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. squash — the sport
  3. band — a ring
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. can — a tin
  6. spring — the season
  7. squash — to crush
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. cold — not warm
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. band — a music group
  13. mark — a grade
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. mark — a trace
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. spring — a coil
  20. can — a tin
  21. mine — for digging
  22. can — to be able to
  23. cold — an illness
  24. band — a rubber band

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com